I struggle with the word “merry” as applied to Christmas celebrations coming up perhaps as some of you do also. Without wanting to sound emotionally austere, merriness departed from my holiday celebrations after the death of my son 2 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I continue to strive to find moments of joy and …
Replacing The Merry In Christmas With Meaningful Read More »
French strikers are not showing any glimpses of backing down. So far, the strike has been extended to Wednesday and I won’t be surprised if it continues even longer. I would venture to say that if you had their plum retirement age and pensions promised to you when you were hired, you would be out …
French Strikers Have Reason To Fight For Their Plum Retirements. Read More »
Black Friday craziness has unfortunately invaded France, but there is also a strong resisting push here to make it Green Friday instead! So what is Green Friday and from where did it come? Green Friday is a completely different French mindset resisting relentless promotion of consumerism, greed, and exploitation of others and of the planet. …
Le Grand Palais is a beautiful building created for the world exhibition of 1900, which hosts multiple events throughout the year. Trying to “bring” Rungis to Parisians was not one of their best. Rungis is not the prettiest word, nor a pretty village, but is famous for housing the humongous former “belly of Paris” Les …
Rungis Au Grand Palais, Great Quality, Pretty Displays But Limited In Scope Read More »
Pierre Gassendi was the first to observe and describe the transit of Mercury across the sun in 1631, a rare occurrence that was repeated this past Monday. In the early seventeenth century, he was seen as one of the most gifted scientists, astronomers and philosophers of his time, yet he was also a Catholic priest. …
Pierre Gassendi Built Bridges Between God And Science Read More »
My son André Alexandre loved well made dark chocolate from the best artisanal chocolatiers here. I always enjoyed bringing him some from the finest chocolate makers in Paris each time I flew across the pond to visit him. He also enjoyed going with me to these salons when he was a culinary student at Ferrandi. …
Rue Mouffetard has long been one of my favourite foodie streets for several reasons. Crammed with a jumble of eclectic food stalls, the ambience can easily whisk me back to medieval Paris. Rue Mouffetard has stayed “dans son jus”. A colourful French way of saying that it has remained unchanged or still basking in “it’s …
Rue Mouffetard, A Medieval Looking Food Street In Paris Read More »
My very first time to arrive in Paris was the beginning of autumn many years ago, when I was a young and naive student. Though it was only September the 5th, I well remember the day. As soon as I stepped off the Air France plane, I was ill-prepared for the shock of the very …
Blue moon, Full moon, Harvest moon, Hunter’s moon, Supermoon and moon eclipses are all beautiful to look at and fascinating stuff of lore and myth. Moon phases on sleep and mood disturbances are more than just a phenomenon! A phenomenon is an observable event or situation that causality can’t be totally explained. There are hundreds …
The Moulin Rouge just celebrated their 130 year anniversary of the French Cancan! It was October 6, 1889, when they first opened their doors in Montmartre. To celebrate this anniversary, the Moulin Rouge put on a spectacular Sound and Light show Sunday, complete with their famous Cancan dancers where I braved the crowds in front …
Moulin Rouge Paris 130 Year Anniversary Of French Cancan Read More »
If you have ever taken in a walk in the lovely Luxembourg gardens, you have probably seen Marie de Medici’s palace. This stately former royal palace became home to the French Senate. The palace is not open to the general public except by invitation from a senator, or on Jours de Patrimoine( Heritage Days). Not …
Marie de Medici, The Queen Behind Luxembourg Palace And Gardens Read More »
What defines compulsive buying and what is underneath the urge to compulsively buy buy buy? Actually, there is a lot of psychological push and pull going on, in addition to a hormonal reward system at play. Let’s take a look. The clearest definition is that compulsive shopping disorder is an ongoing preoccupation of shopping with …